the best

This is my mother. Isn't she beautiful? Sometimes it just takes my breath away. Today is my mother's birthday. I won't tell you how old (I value my life, thank you), but she looks at least 10 years younger than she is and people are always shocked to learn her actual age. My mom is hands-down my favourite person in the world. She's my hero and my friend, and there are hundreds of reasons why. For the sake of brevity, here's a short list of examples of awesomeness.

- She's a retired preschool teacher with a masters in Special Ed, and she adores kids. Once while with me at a doctor's office, I came out after the appointment to find her on the floor of the waiting room with a boy of maybe 4. He was pointing things out to her in a book and she was encouraging him to articulate what each one was.

- When I was very sick in high school, she went with me from doctor to doctor, hospital to hospital. Towards the end of the ordeal, we were waiting to see a specialist and had been in the exam room an extremely long time. To distract me, she invited me to waltz with her. It worked!

- She is a Small Mammal Interpreter at the National Zoo, and she loves it. When I was studying abroad in college, I received regular updates not only about the goings-on at home, but how the Golden Lion Tamarins were doing--even photos when they had babies!

- When I was little, she penciled in the names of the keys on our very old, very valuable piano so that I could learn them. She did the same for my brother a few years later.

- She's my favourite travel companion, be it near or far. We always have a marvelous time! We've done Paris, China, and Athens abroad, and lots of little trips in the states!That's just a short list of ways my mom is the best mom anyone could have. She's sweet, creative, and funny and knows just how to make a home feel like a home. She's got a wonderfully quirky sense of humor, but she ain't no pushover, either. I love you, Mama! Happy Birthday!